Author Archives: admin

On Religious Tolerance in Rhode Island

Posted on February 14, 2012 by admin

The question of whether religion has a place in civic life has been a constant source of controversy since the emergence of modern liberal-democratic societies—since it was within them that this very notion of civic or public life first came … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, Public Opinion, Religion, Slavoj Žižek | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Dickens and Happiness

Posted on February 8, 2012 by admin

About Charles Dickens fellow-writer George Orwell said once that the former probably was the only “among modern writers” who ever gave “a convincing picture of happiness.” Orwell was referring to Dickens’ most famous story—A Christmas Carol—in which the Cratchits, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Literatura | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Margin Call (2011), or a Report on the Banality of Greed

Posted on December 29, 2011 by admin

So far, few movies have been as successful as J. C. Chandor’s Margin Call (2011) in portraying the events of the 2008 economic crisis. In fact, the movie achieves something only a few among the best films in history have … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics, Evil, Films, Philosophy, Politics, Slavoj Žižek | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Solaris and heaven

Posted on December 20, 2011 by admin

Watching Solaris (2002), the version of Stanislaw Lem’s novel adapted and directed by Steven Soderbergh (there is a previous one by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky), I couldn’t help thinking about Christianity’s philosophically challenging notion of heaven. Briefly, Solaris is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Existentialism, Films, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

En busca de El pez que fuma

Posted on December 14, 2011 by admin

Conversando el otro día con un compatriota que preparaba un curso sobre cine latinoamericano en una universidad de los Estados Unidos, a la pregunta: ¿qué película venezolana incluyes?, su respuesta automática fue “ninguna”. Luego, por supuesto, siguió la sentencia de rigor: … Continue reading →

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Deseo y cine

Posted on December 10, 2011 by admin

Žižek comienza su Guía del pervertido para el cine (2006) con una advertencia: el problema que afrontamos los humanos no es que tengamos deseos — de hecho, desear es una parte muy importante de lo que somos —; el problema real es … Continue reading →

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El Árbol de la vida y la cábala

Posted on November 23, 2011 by admin

Antes comentaba que, en mi opinión, la última película del director Terence Malick, El árbol de la vida, es un verdadero bodrio. Si bien el tema principal es el origen y desarrollo de la vida sobre la tierra, el mismo se yuxtapone con … Continue reading →

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The Tree of Boredom

Posted on November 20, 2011 by admin

Finally, I saw Terence Malick’s The Tree of Life. I must confess that I truly was looking forward to seeing this movie, as I’ve stated a few months ago. And, as it’s usually the case with Terence Malick’s movies, it took … Continue reading →

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Nuevas sobre el festival

Posted on November 18, 2011 by admin

Hoy tuve la oportunidad de asistir a una presentación del joven cineasta mexicano Sebastián (Sepo) Hiriart, quien estaba en la universidad para participar en el Festival de Cine Latino Americano de Carolina del Norte. Sebastián es hijo del escritor mexicano … Continue reading →

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Eagleton on Occupy Herod’s Temple

Posted on November 4, 2011 by admin

The Guardian is carrying today a witty piece by Terry Eagleton on the Occupy London movement.  Since the London equivalent to Occupy Wall Street is “occupying” the emblematic St Paul Cathedral, one of the Church of England most iconic temples, Eagleton uses his piece to … Continue reading →

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